Awakening Elementary School System in University

Although Huang Yiyi was also a very beautiful woman, the professional aura she exuded as a Tiansheng Investment elite was a bit too much. Her OL uniform was practically unchanging; she rarely even switched up the color. After a while... it was admittedly a little monotonous.

Now that Yunqing and Shen Yan were back, Chen Lin instantly felt the air in the office lighten up considerably.

At the very least, when he was staring at the esoteric mathematical formulas on his computer, grinding away at his paper until he was dizzy and exhausted, he could just look up for a feast for the eyes.

Shen Yan stuck to her unfailingly simple, high-school-student style. A plain white T-shirt paired with light blue jeans. Yet, with her pure, exquisite face and her cool, ethereal demeanor, she pulled off the classic look of a "first love" campus beauty.

As for Yunqing, ever since wearing that stunning OL uniform on her first day and finding out there was no dress code, she had reverted to what she did best: trendy fashion. Every day was like a runway show, as she effortlessly put together outfits in all sorts of styles.

One day it would be a "sweet but cool" look with a cropped hoodie and cargo pants; the next, it might be an elegant and sophisticated French-style dress. Combined with her bright, graceful looks and disposition, she looked for all the world like a female lead who had walked straight out of a TV drama.

One serene, one dynamic; one cool, one warm. The two completely different types of top-tier beauty greatly enriched Chen Lin’s spiritual life during his moments of slacking off in the office.

During this period, thanks to the efforts of Sun Yu and Shen Yan, Yanhai Company had successfully closed two more deals.

However, the clients were nowhere near the scale of industry leaders like Era of Creation and Huanrun Pharmaceutical.

Although Chen Lin had still handled the jobs with ease, perfectly solving the clients’ mathematical problems and bringing in two million in revenue for the company, according to the system’s assessment, the actual valuation increase from these two projects was a mere five million in total.

Even so, when Chen Lin glanced at his system panel, he found that his personal net worth had quietly surpassed the thirty-five-million mark.

He saw that the four people in the office were all attending to their respective duties, a picture of tranquil diligence.

Chen Lin didn’t disturb them. He opened his own laptop and prepared to continue polishing the paper he was planning to submit to JAMS.

By his own estimate, the first draft of the paper would be finished by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Then, he could officially send it to Professor Gu Ming for review and edits.

However, he had barely sat down, his seat not even warm yet, when his phone screen lit up with a WeChat notification.

It was from Principal Chang Kai.

Chang Kai: [Chen, are you free right now? Come by my office. Let’s go over the details for this afternoon’s interview one more time.]

Chen Lin glanced at the time and only then remembered he had that on his schedule for today.

He quickly replied, "On my way," grabbed his phone from the desk, gave Huang Yiyi a quick heads-up, and hurried toward the administration building.

In the principal’s office, Chang Kai was as affable as ever.

When Chen Lin came in, he warmly gestured for him to sit, personally brewed him a cup of tea, and then pushed a printed document over.

"Chen, take a look at this," Chang Kai said with a smile. "I’ve arranged for a few media outlets to conduct a joint interview with you this afternoon. I had the publicity department draft an interview outline with suggested answers based on your situation. Get familiar with it, and if you feel anything is off, we can revise it right now."

Chen Lin took the document and read it carefully.

He had to admit, a management-focused principal like Chang Kai was truly meticulous when it came to handling these things.

The questions in the document were expertly crafted. They highlighted Chen Lin’s personal achievements while cleverly linking them to the university’s nurturing environment and support.

The sample answers were even more impressive—safe, airtight, and striking a perfect balance between humility and a genius’s confidence. They perfectly sculpted the image of a model student.

Chen Lin read through the whole document, found no issues, and began silently preparing his answers right there in the office.

....

....

At one-thirty in the afternoon, in the large conference room on the third floor of the administration building, the interview officially began.

On one side of the long conference table sat seven or eight reporters from various media outlets. Voice recorders and laptops were laid out before them. While it wasn’t quite a media circus of flashing cameras, the professional atmosphere was palpable.

On the other side, Chen Lin and Principal Chang Kai were seated side by side.

After some brief opening remarks, the interview moved on to the question-and-answer session.

The first person to raise his hand was a sharp-looking male reporter with black-rimmed glasses.

He started things off with a rather pointed question.

"Hello, Chen Lin. I’m a reporter from the Jinmen Daily. I was also present at the modeling competition. I’d like to ask, when Yang Han from Jiangcheng University was on stage publicly questioning Shen Yan and implying that Yannan University’s algorithm wasn’t your contribution, what was going through your mind when you chose to go up on stage at that very moment and respond so forcefully?"

Chen Lin had prepared for this question in particular.

’In any case, there was no way he was going to admit in front of all these reporters that he had done it to secure the 6,000 yuan in prize money Shen Yan had promised to split with him.’

Chen Lin’s expression, however, remained calm and composed. He picked up the microphone, faced the reporter, and answered in a clear, measured tone:

"Thank you for your question. In my view, Yang Han’s comments at the time were not just an attack on Shen Yan’s personal reputation, but also a baseless accusation against the academic integrity of our entire Yannan University team.

As a member of Yannan University, I felt it was my responsibility and my duty to step forward immediately, clarify the facts, and defend our school’s academic reputation."

His words were righteous and firm, neither servile nor arrogant.

Sitting beside him, Principal Chang Kai was very pleased. A satisfied smile graced his face as he gave a series of subtle, approving nods.

Next, a female reporter in a beige trench coat with a sophisticated air raised her hand.

"Hello, Chen Lin. We’ve noticed that you and Shen Yan are both very popular online, and many netizens are quite interested in your personal relationship. Are you two currently a couple?"

"Cough!"

Chen Lin nearly choked on his own spit. ’What the hell?!’ he thought.

’This wasn’t in the script!’

’Why are they going off-script?’

Just as his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to tactfully sidestep the question, Principal Chang Kai, who was sitting beside him, calmly interjected.

With a warm yet authoritative smile, Principal Chang Kai addressed the reporter in a gentle but firm tone, "My friend, thank you for your interest in our students.

However, their relationship status is a matter of personal privacy. The university does not interfere in such matters, and we hope our friends in the media can be respectful of that. To ensure the efficiency of today’s interview, let’s keep the focus on academics and personal growth. Please refrain from asking similar questions going forward."

His words were reasonable and well-founded, yet with a steely undertone that shut down the gossipy question completely.

The reporter knew she had overstepped. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face, but she quickly recovered and posed a different question: "Understood, Principal. In that case, I’d like to ask Chen Lin, according to our information, you’re enrolled in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature here at Yannan University. Could you tell us why your mathematical abilities are so advanced? Is there a particular story behind it?"

This question was part of the script.

Chen Lin collected himself and answered unhurriedly, following the prepared script. "There isn’t really a special story. I’ve personally had a very strong interest in mathematics since I was young, and I enjoyed reading books on the subject in my spare time. The more I read, the more I realized I might have a bit of a knack for it, so I just kept teaching myself."

He paused for a moment before changing tack and adding smoothly:

"Of course, so that I can study and research it more systematically, I passed the proficiency exam for the School of Mathematics at the start of this semester and have officially transferred into the Department of Mathematics as a math major."

The moment he said this, the reporters’ eyes lit up, and their pens began moving a little faster.